New group builds connections between students, law enforcement By Eduardo Andrade, Editor-in-Chief
Students have joined with teachers, police officers and members of the community to form Operation Establish Trust (OET), a group focused on building trust between local law enforcement and the neighborhoods they serve. “We want the Pompano community to gain back trust in law enforcement, and hopefully that will create a chain reaction for outside of the community,” junior Breah Campbell said. Campbell has been a part of the group since November. In the wake of the George Floyd murder and subsequent protests, ROTC teacher Lt. Col. Gregory Johnson helped found the group hoping to increase engagement, understanding and discourse between the police and the people they serve, with an emphasis on local change. “I contacted several individuals … to say, ‘Hey can we do something positive?’ You know, not for the whole world. But can we focus on Pompano?” said Johnson. “If we can work with the police that service this area, it may be unique from all these different cities, so they know your community, tailor to your community … It's very difficult for someone from Washington, D. C. to try to fix a problem here.” Many people of color have long felt insecure about their relationship with law enforcement, and the events over
the summer and this past year amplified those feelings. OET is hoping to provide a platform for students to not only express those feelings, but to actively work towards fixing the issues at their roots. “I never feel completely 100% safe at school or out and about,” sophomore Tasfia Howlader said in an essay she submitted to a survey put out by the group. “This is the first step and I thank everyone for the opportunity to speak out.” Since June, the group has met virtually each week and was originally composed of teachers, officers and other adults, with the first students joining the group in October. “Having the opportunity to help the community and the police department work together to establish trust was one I could not pass up,” social studies teacher Richard Nagy said. While being online has increased the challenge of getting students to join, Johnson says that it has also provided some benefits. “So it's a little harder in this environment to probably get some of the numbers that we probably could get. So that's another thing that's kind of hampering us a little bit,” Johnson said. “(But), this allows us to think, you know, be more deliberate and ask ‘Is that really going to work?’” On top of giving people the opportunity to speak directly with police officers in the
community, OET also gave students the opportunity to submit written works outlining their feelings and offered a survey where students could opt in to receive resources on how to become more involved with law enforcement. “Sometimes people just feel that it's hopeless. Things aren't really going to change, we can't have any impact,” Johnson said. “I think it gets too daunting if you look at … Washington, or Florida or something like that. But I think when you say Pompano, our school or something like that, we can do that,” Johnson said. Though the group does not plan on meeting again this school year, it has discussed plans for several projects when they reconvene, such as creating a panel to answer questions in a town hall setting, producing training videos to help police de-escalate encounters and helping young people get involved in the Explorers Program, which teaches about a career in law enforcement. “People should join regardless of how they feel about what occurred last summer prior to George Floyd’s death and where they stand,” Campbell said. “All sides and viewpoints are valued in order to work towards a resolution to fix the division that resulted in the events that occurred last summer … All we ask is for peace, patience and dedication.”
Hear their voices... "Our country was built upon freedom and liberty, our law upon trust and justice, our people upon love and kindness, and our government upon people. So why is it without freedom and trust, justice or love, or even people? Our nation is politically divided, our people oppressed and without trust, and our law no longer with justice. I've met officers of the law -- they are kind people within. However, life happens, and unfortunately, they use their
job as a therapy session. The media is ruthless to respond. A perfect reflection upon our world. That's why those who are attacked need to be better than perfect, flawless. Officers of the law need to separate their jobs from their lives and become unbiased towards people. That way others wouldn't feel oppressed and there would no longer be tension within our Country built upon freedom and liberty," ~ Anonymous student
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"Law enforcement officers are supposed to help citizens feel safe in our communities, but instead we fear them. Many thoughts occur through people’s heads when getting stopped by law enforcements: "Will today be my last day?", "Does my hair comb look like a weapon?" People should not have to fear the men and women who should be protecting
us. Not everyone is a criminal, so why are we treating everyone like they are. Is it because their skin color is different? Systematically oppressing people is why we are in fear. To all law enforcement officers out there, you are an inspiration to many people, especially young ones, so please set a good example,' ~ Anonymous student
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